Prince Charles and Camilla come ‘home’ to Canada

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, shown here in a file photo, will arrive in Canada on Sunday.

Photograph by: Chris Jackson, Getty Images
, Canada.com

On their first trip to Canada as a married couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwallfaced a mob of anti-monarchy protesters in Montreal. The angry crowd forced the couple to enter an armoury, where they were to meet with veterans, through a back door.

And yet, as the riot police moved in, it is probably safe to say that even some Canadians who did not oppose the monarchy may have secretly harboured a little schadenfreude in seeing the couple suffer through a bit of hostility. In 2009, people were still adjusting to the union of the heir to the throne and his erstwhile mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles.

How things have changed. Even though a 2013 Forum Poll by the National Post found that 37 per cent of Canadians would still like to get rid of the monarchy, the same poll found that the birth of Prince George last summer has dulled republican sentiment in Canada. Add to that the rock-star status of Prince George’s parents and an obvious image overhaul for Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, and the latest royal visit to Canada — a four-day excursion beginning Sunday — promises to be much smoother.

While this tour, the couple’s third, won’t attract the same kind of public adulation and press coverage as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s recent tour of Australia and New Zealand, it is nonetheless significant in a number of ways — and casts the future monarch and his wife in a new light as they tour parts of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.

“This tour is significant because these are the kinds of tours in the past that would have been undertaken by the Queen,” explains Carolyn Harris, a professor at the University of Toronto who is an expert in European monarchies. “She was there for key events in Canada’s history over the last 60-plus years … we’re seeing the Queen is cutting back her overseas travel and her children and grandchildren are representing her more and more.”

Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, has said the tour is really about “highlighting Canadian achievement — past, present and future” focusing on “activities that showcase special communities, individuals and groups from all across the country.”

“The reason we call it a homecoming is that it reinforces the fact that the Royal family are not foreign visitors to Canada,” says Robert Finch, Dominion Chairman of the League. “Rather, they are coming here as Canadians. They are coming ‘home’ to Canada.”

But the tour will also reveal a change in the couple’s public image since the 2009 tour, which was clearly not as successful as monarchy supporters might have hoped.

“It was November, the weather was bad and the itinerary wasn’t well publicized so they didn’t receive the sorts of crowds that often gather for royal tours. The 2009 trip was not as well received,” says Harris.

But by the time of their 2012 tour, the tide had begun to turn in their favour. It was “a huge success,” Finch says, and Harris thinks this can be attributed to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and a renewed interest in the monarchy following the 2011 wedding of Prince William and the popular Kate Middleton.

And as the Duchess of Cornwall has taken on more solo assignments, she has gained confidence and earned new respect, both in Britain and here in Canada. The passage of time, and the tacit support of Princes William and Harry, have also helped end some of the animosity.

“Her figure has really grown on the public as time has passed and she has become more and more popular in her own right,“ says Harris.

Lynne Bell, who writes for Majesty magazine and is co-author of Queen and Consort: Elizabeth and Philip, agrees. She says there was tremendous pressure on the Duchess of Cornwall during the first Canadian visit in 2009, but that she has learned quickly on the job — and the couple’s obvious affection for one another has won people over.

“They care about each other, they are happy together, and I think that’s good energy … She is very much herself and I think people have seen her grow,” Bell says. “As far as a young romantic couple, William and Catherine, they’ve got the market cornered on that right now. So I think people are content to let this middle-aged couple be happy together and do their jobs.”

But the spectre of Diana, the self-styled Queen of Hearts, still hovers. It is rare to see an online story about Camilla that isn’t followed by at least one or two comments referring to her perceived abuse of Diana. Even a story posted recently in Britain’s Daily Mail, featuring an image of the Duchess in tears at her brother’s funeral, brought out the venom.

“The acceptance of Charles and Camilla has been a slow and steady progression — and it’s probably still a work in progress,” says Finch. “But, I think they’re well over the hump, really. The more Canadians get to know Prince Charles the more they will warm to him and his wife.”

And a tour, says Harris, gives us that chance to get acquainted.

“It’s an opportunity for Canadians to see their future head of state engaging with Canadians and Canadian institutions,” she says. “So often when we hear about the royal family we hear about events at Buckingham Palace or Windsor and we see them in a British context, whereas their presence in Canada demonstrates their Canadian role as royalty within the Canadian Crown.”

And, Finch says, we may even learn something about ourselves.

“When the Royals come to Canada we learn more about our country and ourselves because of the places they visit, the activities they do, the people they meet, and the events they commemorate. We wouldn’t pay attention to any of that if not for the presence of a member of the Royal Family.”

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